Bet and Messages
by Jadi Teal
Summary: It was just a stupid bet about Erza's club preferences, and it somehow involved invasion of privacy. NaLu. One Shot.
1. Bet and Messages

**A/N: This was in my drafts for the longest time now and I honestly don't know if this is going to be well-received but yeah, I love NaLu. Hope you'll enjoy!**

* * *

She hesitantly glanced at her ringing phone and when she saw the name written on the caller ID, she let out a quiet squeak as she pushed the device away from her.

How... How could she have forgotten about those messages... She should've checked!

She shut her eyes and cursed herself over and over again about what kind of an idiot she was. She waited until the ringing stopped before she reached out for her phone, deciding to put it on silent mode but then it rang again. She almost dropped the phone but even through her panic, she held on to it tightly and turned the cellular device off.

Lucy took a deep breath to try and calm herself down but it did little to slow down her rapidly beating heart. She stood up and paced around her room, what should she do next? How did she manage to throw herself into this situation?

xoxox

 _A pair of tanned hands slammed itself on the wooden surface of her desk. She stopped reading and looked up from her book, glaring at the person. She knew that there was no reason to feel mad but the memory of seeing him with Lisanna the other day makes her cranky._

 _"Yo Luce, let's make a bet." The pink-haired boy grinned at her, showing his unusually sharp canines. The boy was too dense to notice her annoyance much less her feelings for him._

 _"Not now, Natsu. Besides, isn't Gray always willing to make a bet with you?" Lucy tried to resume what she was doing before._

 _"Feh. Juvia's chasing him down right now so I don't know where that stripper's hiding." Natsu's lips was now pulled into a frown and he folded his arms across his chest._

 _She glanced up from her book for a split second as she turned the page, "I don't know, Natsu... I'm trying to spend as little as possible right now so I can pay for my rent." She sighed dramatically. It was true and now she's using it as an excuse to avoid her best friend._

 _"Oh, but it won't involve money, I promise!" He begged, he sounded so desperate that it got her questioning why the bet was so important to him._

 _Lucy hesitated, what kind of excuse can she make? She really just wants to get over what she saw or else she wouldn't be able to treat him the same way again, she'll be forced to tell him the truth and maybe... destroy their friendship. And she didn't want that._

 _"You've been avoiding me since yesterday, did I do something?" He asked, his voice laced with sadness._

 _That snapped her out of her thoughts, "N-No! I'm not avoiding you, it's just that-Fine, what's the bet about?" She sighed in defeat. She almost let her secret slip, good thing she stopped herself before she ruin everything they had._

 _"How about... the club that Erza will pick? I mean, it's the start of the school year." Natsu beamed at her. "I'm guessing it's the cooking club."_

 _Lucy raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask if he's serious. As far as she knew, Erza really likes sweets but she could never imagine the redhead joining the cooking club since it isn't really focused on sweets but a wide variety of foods. She even heard that the cooking club likes to come up with new recipes and it doesn't always end well. "I'm pretty sure she'll join the council." Erza's leadership-material, everyone takes her seriously and she's a disciplinarian at heart. She's likely to run for the position of president and win just as she had always done._

 _"Then shall we bet our facebook passwords?" Natsu suggested and Lucy swore she saw a glint in his eyes. It made her a bit suspicious about the bet. Why did he suddenly have the idea of making a bet over Erza's club preferences?_

 _"Why our passwords?" She raised an eyebrow at him. Is he planning on ruining her reputation using social media?_

 _"Because it's interesting, I mean, it's as important as money to you, right?"_

 _Lucy wanted to retort but what he said was true. She's a really private person and doesn't want anyone trying to invade that privacy. Giving her password is something she would never ever do._

 _"Isn't there anything else?"_

 _Natsu paused and looked up, possibly to think of something other than money and facebook passwords. "I don't know," he shrugged, "how about you?"_

 _"Food?" Lucy asked hopefully, Natsu has a really big appetite and she thinks that it will make him change his mind._

 _"Mm... Nah. I mean, we always get food from you and when we don't, Lisanna's always there giving free food to us." Natsu grinned at the thought of all those free foods._

 _Lucy knew that she had no reason to get jealous at Lisanna. They both play the same part in Natsu's life as his best friend and Lisanna knew Natsu way before she did, she was even there when Happy, Natsu's pet cat, was still a kitten. Besides, the silver-haired girl was nice and friendly and she couldn't hold a grudge against someone who really seems like a real angel._

 _"Is that so..." She faked a smile, "Okay then, we'll go with the passwords."_

 _"Yosh! I'll definitely win this bet!" He pointed a finger at me and cackled confidently as he returned to his seat. She sighed, her shoulders slumped as she relaxed. Being near Natsu makes her feel nervous and she always gets overly conscious about her looks and the way she mingles with him. She wished she never realized the feelings she was harboring for the guy, maybe it wouldn't be this hard to talk to Natsu like she used to._

 _Well, she doesn't have to worry about the bet anyway, it was a sure win that Erza will join the student council. Everyone feels like Erza is the only one fit to be the council's president and she agrees with that, she's even feared by most of the other schools in the area._

xoxox

She slapped herself. Oh right... the bet. This is why she thinks love is just a waste of time, it messes with you, your mind, and your life. And now she's doomed forever. What an idiot she was for accepting that bet.

"Luce!"

The blonde whirled around to find her best friend already opening her bedroom window, the tail of his scale-like scarf dancing with the cool wind. She shrieked in surprise and with all her strength, clumsily closed and locked her window.

"Damn it, Luce, open up!" Natsu banged on the glass window, not a care if he shatter it or not.

"No! And stop that! You'll break my window, you idiot!" She screamed and closed the curtains, her cheeks were flushed and her heart was beating too fast like she had just ran from a marathon. She didn't expect Natsu to come to her house, and she didn't expect for it to be _this_ fast.

"Luce, open up! Come on!" His voice was a bit muffled by the closed window but she could hear him clearly, possibly because he was yelling and Natsu is a loud-mouthed guy.

She chose to ignore it. She lay on her bed, facing away from the window with her hands pressed against both ears. She was running away from her problems yet again but she doesn't care, she couldn't face him right now. Maybe some other time when she finally mustered up enough courage but right now... no, she'll die.

xoxox

 _"You didn't enter the student council?!" Erza flinched as she was suddenly cornered by two people early in the morning. One a blonde girl and the other a pink-headed guy, the guy had a wide grin plastered on his face while the girl stared at her in disbelief and disappointment. Lucy and Natsu, two of her close friends._

 _She cleared her throat. "Yes, as much as I want to, I couldn't join the student council anymore." She smiled apologetically, she's been questioned about this from left to right yesterday._

 _"But why?" Lucy almost had tears in her eyes as she stared up at the red-haired beauty._

 _"Apparently, a new rule has been created that the previous president isn't allowed to run for the next election to give chance to others. I was the president last school year so I won't be able to run again this year."_

 _"But what about the other positions?" Erza grew a bit suspicious, why is Lucy making such a big deal out of this? And why is Natsu grinning from ear to ear like he had just won a lottery?_

 _"I thought this out and I think maybe this is a sign for me to step down and discover other things. I think the next council members are capable enough to handle the student body."_

 _"Then what club did you join?" This time, it was Natsu who asked the question._

 _"I joined the cooking club, I wanted to improve my skills on cooking and I guess the free sweets every now and then are nice." The redhead felt like this was becoming more of an interview but she kept quiet, still confused over the two._

 _"Ya hear that, Luce? I won!" Natsu cheered, puffing his chest with pride._

 _"Shut up! I bet you knew about the new rule!" Lucy glared at him. For her, it wasn't impossible for Natsu to do that, he's just like a kid._

 _"No, er, the new rule was only informed to the past members of the council and those who are running for the positions. It was only allowed to be known publicly after the elections so..." Erza cut in, correcting the blonde._

 _Lucy sighed in defeat, still cannot believe how she lost to Natsu over a stupid bet. "Fine, you win. I'll give you the password over a text message, don't pass it around or change it. I'll kill you if you do." She gave a glare at the boy who didn't even flinch at her threat, he was still grinning._

xoxox

Lucy woke up early as usual but a little tired. Natsu left after an hour of yelling and banging on the window, even her neighbor was already yelling at her about the noise. She spent the night thinking about how she should face Natsu today after pushing him away the entire night.

The blonde got ready for school and left the house with an hour to spare like usual but didn't head straight to school. She went to the nearby park to pass time, thinking of arriving late to class. With this, she'll be able to avoid a confrontation even if it's for a little while. Lucy knew she won't be able to keep on running away from him, she had to face him eventually, but she wanted to buy as much time as possible.

By the time she arrived at school, she was already thirty minutes late and she didn't think it was this nerve-wracking to avoid teachers in the hallway. If they caught her walking around during class hours, she'll be reprimanded for sure.

Lucy knocked at their classroom's door, it's better to be scolded inside a room with only her classmates inside rather than outside where two to three classes will probably hear them.

There wasn't a response and the usual rowdy classroom seemed to be peaceful from the outside. She slowly slid the door open, careful not to make any noise that may catch attention. When she finally slid the door fully open, she was surprised to find the room empty, not a single person inside.

She didn't understand, there were school bags on each seat indicating that her classmates have arrived but not one was inside their room during class. Why?

Before she knew it, she got pushed inside the room and an audible click was heard. She knew the door was now locked. She whirled around and found Natsu walking up to her, a serious look on his face that she could only see rarely.

"Uh, hey... have you seen the others?" She gulped. When Natsu gets like this, it means that he's angry. And well, he has the right to be angry after she locked him outside her house last night for an entire hour.

"Did you know how long you made me wait?" He asked and she looked away, not wanting to glance up at his burning eyes.

"I didn't know that you were waiting for me." She reasoned out, gripping the strap of her bag tightly. Her hands were sweating from the nervousness. She looked down. She still wasn't prepared.

"Well of course you wouldn't know. If I tell you then you'll obviously avoid me again. I'm not that stupid, Luce." She saw Natsu's feet stop in front of her, just a few feet away. She stepped back but he just took a step forward. "Don't run away from me, the doors are guarded."

She gulped, "Can we please just get this over with?" If she can't run away right now then isn't it better to deal with it now so that he'll stop all this?

"Is it true?" He asked, taking another step closer to her.

"Is what true?" She asked back, still looking at the ground.

"That message you sent to Levy." He took another step closer and she took a step back.

"Which one? We send a lot of messages to each other. And did you just read my private messages?" She was silently praying that this will go well, she really wants to run away. She's afraid of rejection, she knew Natsu and Lisanna had a history together and that Natsu had feelings for her once upon a time... maybe even now, he loves her still.

"That you love me." He didn't move this time and she was also glued in her place because of what he just said.

She cringed. She knew Natsu can be blunt but this level of straight-forwardness was too much for her to handle. She felt her face heat up and she was now biting back a scream of pure panic.

Honestly, she knew from the very start that she had no chance with Natsu. Not only was he an idiot but she was not Lisanna and can never be like her. She can be bossy and hot-tempered, she always yells at Natsu and Happy, and she can complain like there's no tomorrow while Lisanna... she was like an angel, always kind and will always take care of Natsu and Happy without little to no complaint. That's why she didn't need this confrontation, she already knew how this will end.

"Luce, please answer me, is it true?" She couldn't decipher Natsu's feelings right now, maybe it was because her own feelings were all jumbled up and she couldn't concentrate on anything but her own heartbeat.

"Does it matter if it's true or not?" She looked at him in the eye, she was desperate to get out of this without having to reveal her feelings to him.

"Of course it matters! If it's true, how should I respond to it if you won't tell me?"

Lucy bit her bottom lip. At this point, her emotions were now overflowing in the form of her tears. She really doesn't want to admit it but she knew deep down that she needs to let it out, she needed to tell him so that she'll be in peace with herself, so that a heavy weight will be lifted from her shoulders, so that she'll find closure, so that she could finally let go. She needed his answer but she was just afraid that he'll break her heart when he tells her he's sorry and that he loves Lisanna.

"Mavis! Yes, it's true! I love you, okay? Are you satisfied now?" She wiped her tears angrily, she wasn't mad at Natsu, she was mad at herself for being dramatic over this. "Can I leave now, please?" She begged, even if her legs feels like jelly right now, she wanted to sprint down the halls and back to the safety of her home.

"Sorry but I won't let you go right now." She almost squeaked when Natsu walked up to her and planted a clumsy kiss on her lips. "Not when you finally admitted that you love me." He grinned at her, his cheeks were flushed red, and his serious expression earlier was no where to be seen. It's liked he changed into a different person in a blink of an eye.

"Why did you do that?" Nope, she wasn't going to hope for it. This is Natsu for Pete's sake! He's too dense that he might not even know what a kiss means.

"'Cause isn't that what you do to the girl you love? I'm pretty sure that's what Ice Princess told me..." He mumbled the last part more to himself. "Or is this one of his stupid pranks?"

"What? Aren't you... to Lisanna...?" She blinked. What the hell just happened? She was so sure he would reject her.

"Lisanna? What about her?" He cocked his head to the side innocently. When he realized what I was trying to say, he laughed. "Lisanna's a friend, Luce."

"Yeah, well, she was your first love, wasn't she?" This must really be some kind of sick joke from Natsu, no way would he like her romantically.

"Nah, it was more of a crush, really." He rubbed the back of his neck, as if embarassed that they're talking about his almost non-existent love life.

"And what about me? How can you be so sure that you love me?" She wasn't about to hope for nothing even though her chest was practically about to burst due to how fast and loud her heart was beating at this moment.

"Why don't you try dating me and I'll prove it to you?" He smirked and she flushed red, well this was a side of his that she never saw before.

"Where did you learn to talk like that?" She asked, clearly he must've heard it somewhere.

"Gray taught me that one. He said I should try saying it to you if I could man up enough to confess. Did I do it fine?" He grinned at her and she had to control herself from jumping into his arms, this man was too much for her.

"Yeah but next time do something your style. I figured it was from someone else." She shrugged, trying to act as composed as possible.

"So, aren't ya gonna to date me or what?" Natsu squeezed both of her cheeks and pulled them. She whined and slapped both of his hands away.

"I don't know..." What if they did date and broke up? What if it would ruin their friendship?

"Well I still don't know what dating is but I'll learn, I just want you mine, Luce." He chuckled, scratching his nose, embarassed.

Lucy bit her lip, the sight of Natsu being embarrassed with his cheeks tinted pink was melting her heart. "Fine, I'm yours, you cheeky idiot."

She was surprised when a loud cheer erupted around them and party poppers popped. Her classmates simultaneously ran into the classroom, some entering from the windows and the others through the door. They all circled around the two, cheering and congratulating them.

Lucy saw Levy, Gray, Juvia, and the others among the crowd smiling happily at them. Gray gave her a salute, and Gajeel a knowing smirk while the girls hugged her. Even the teacher came in, grumbling about how her entire hour for lecture was wasted over something like this.

Natsu pulled Lucy and planted a kiss on her lips that lasted for a few seconds but to her, it felt slow yet also quick. "Heh, I had always wanted to do that." He chuckled and Lucy laughed, she can't believe she was worrying and getting jealous over nothing. And she can't believe that she's finally Natsu's.

"I'm gonna change my password now." She still values her privacy and she won't let Natsu pry into her messages again.

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 **A/N: I'm thinking of doing Natsu's side because I honestly have a reason about the sudden bet but I don't know if it's better left like this. I wanted to make it less dramatic but honeslty, I just wrote what came into my mind first so this might be crappy. Lol.**


	2. Natsu's Side Part 1

**A/N: It is finally DONE! Sorry this took too long, like... months-long. I started writing Natsu's side immediately when I got the two reviews saying I should do one (because I really wanted to and a single review was enough for me) but I didn't know where to start and how to write it but at last, I was finally able to write. The mood here isn't like the previous one, for me, that is and Natsu's too serious. I don't know if you'll agree with me but well, I'm content with this, I hope you will be too.**

* * *

Natsu never knew it was possible to feel so many emotions at the same time, not to mention, these emotions were all negative. He felt angry, disappointed, hurt, and even betrayed, but he didn't know why. He was just happy and excited a moment ago but then his mood changed for the worse, this had been happening a lot lately and he figured he might as well get himself checked by the doctor, maybe there was something wrong with him or his head.

He balled his hands into fists and started walking away from the place, not even bothering to greet his blonde friend a hello since he decided that she was _busy_. He walked away from the cafeteria and headed towards his classroom, searching for a familiar blob of dark, untamed hair, he thought that maybe fighting with someone can help him cheer up again and maybe relieve some stress that had been piling up inside him for weeks.

When he saw Gray who was busy being trapped inside his dreamland in the peaceful solace of his seat, he stomped off towards him. He yanked the unsuspecting victim by the collar and punched him on the cheek. Gray was thrown out of his seat from the impact and fell sideway on the cold floor.

Touching his cheek and wincing from the pain, Gray's head snapped at Natsu, throwing him glare. "What the hell, flame brain?!" Gray yelled and stood up, dusting his uniform.

"Fight me!" Natsu started advancing towards Gray, arm already pulled back for another strike but Gray beat him to it and punched him in the gut. The two immediately started exchanging punches, bumping towards desks and chairs and people, some students who had knocked out of the way even joined the fight. The whole class was on an uproar and the once neatly-organized room became a complete mess in a matter of a few seconds.

The fun, however, had been cut short when Erza Scarlet strode inside the room with an air of authority and a serious expression on her face. Everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and stood quietly, praying that they wouldn't get in trouble. Natsu and Gray threw their arms around each other's shoulders and started wearing a nervous smile on their faces.

"What's with all the ruckus? The other sections were already complaining about the noise." Erza said, her sharp eyes roaming the whole room, eyeing each and every student inside.

"N-Nothing, we were um... having a debate about the discussion we had in class earlier and... uh, everything just got out of hand." Levy's voice quivered and she stuttered as she came up with an excuse for her rowdy classmates. "Sorry." She squeaked.

Erza just stood quietly for a minute that made the whole class hold their breaths in anticipation and fear. Erza let out a sigh. "Fine, I appreciate it that you're taking your studies seriously but please, try to be more civil towards each other, is that clear?"

"Y-Yes!" The whole class answered as a whole.

When the redhead left, the class visibly relaxed, some slumping on their chairs and the other letting out a relieve sigh. And Natsu and Gray? They both slumped on the floor, the nervousness from their encounter with Erza took out all the energy they had.

"What was your problem anyway?" Gray glanced at Natsu with a frown.

"Like I said, I just want a fight." Natsu grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"No you don't, if you were just looking for a fight then you would've been grinning as you punched me. I know you long enough to know that that isn't the reason." Gray said. Even if the two were always on each other's throat, the friendship formed between them can't be denied and Gray was genuinely worried about Natsu's behavior, he had already sensed that something's been bothering the salmon-haired teen. He waited for an answer but Natsu stubbornly kept his mouth shut. "Come on, tell me before I get Erza to console you." He threatened. He knew he shouldn't push Natsu if he doesn't want to talk but the usually cheerful idiot was already too gloomy lately. Even Lucy, Natsu's best friend, had noticed the difference on Natsu's behavior.

Natsu hesitated but started opening up. "I don't know... I just don't feel good when I'm around Lucy lately..." He muttered, fumbling with his scale-like scarf.

Gray raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? How so?" He asked and he watched as Natsu's face twisted in deep concentration.

"Well, first, I get uncomfortable around her and then I have this urge to punch someone which is why... I just punched you earlier." He admitted sheepishly.

"And why do you have the urge to punch someone?"

"Uh... I don't know... I just feel mad whenever Loke's clinging to Lucy like a loyal dog-more like obsessed. He won't let me talk to her and now when I try to approach them, he whisks her away?! What the hell, man?" He groaned, slamming his forehead to the nearest chair around him, forcing the negative emotions back before he could punch Gray once again.

Gray smirked, amused at how dense his childhood friend was, he already knew that Natsu was clueless when it comes to love that doesn't involve family or friendship, but he didn't actually expect that he was _this_ clueless. "Natsu-"

"Tell me Gray, do I have a disease? An illness?" Natsu asked so seriously that Gray fought the urge laugh, did he seriously thought that what he was feeling was some form of disease?

"It's called _love_ , you ash for brains." Gray patted him in the back as if he had just won some competition and he was telling him congratulations.

Natsu visibly stiffened, eyes wide, and his mouth open as he gaped at Gray who had a smirk plastered on his face. Was that what it was? If it was love, then why was he always angry? Why did he feel like he was nothing? From what he remembered from Lucy's constant fan girling when reading romance novels, it was supposed to feel like floating in cloud nine and... What was that? Butterflies in your stomach? Why was his symptoms different?

"Hm? Who's in love?"

The duo looked up to see Cana looking down on them from her seat, which was situated just beside them. Gray grimaced as he realized that Cana might have been listening-eavesdropping-from their conversation from the very start.

Natsu immediately snapped back to reality. "I'm not in love!" He denied, shaking his head. Gray must have been trying to pull his leg.

"Yes, you are." Gray replied back, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not! Lucy said being in love feels nice, well I don't feel _nice_ at all! I feel like shit!" He yelled, glaring at Gray. Cana, on the other hand, was just enjoying the scene since the two boys had flat-out ignored her.

"That's because you were jealous of Loke, maybe you haven't notice those 'nice' feelings before because you're always happy and stuff, but now that you're feeling the negative emotions that comes with love, you just start to notice it." Gray puffed out his chest with pride, he could help Natsu and maybe get him to bow down and worship him later, and it would be a nice plan.

"And you're so wise that you haven't notice that you're already butt-naked." Cana slurred, the alcohol that she had drank earlier was taking toll on her, but she wasn't drunk, just tipsy. She watched as Gray looked down on his own body to see that she was, in fact, correct. He cursed and hastily stood up, looking for his clothes that had somehow disappeared after he unconsciously discarded it.

"So Natsu..." Cana giggled more to herself. "You've fallen for Lucy?" She asked, a hint of playfulness in her tone, she just really loves teasing people.

Natsu's cheeks flushed but he didn't seem to notice it. "I-I don't know! Stop asking me!" He stuttered. He was honestly confused, he didn't know whether to believe what the dark-haired male said earlier since they do have the tendency of trying to make a fool off of each other.

"Well think about it, you said that you feel uncomfortable around Lucy lately, right?" He nodded. "How exactly did you feel? Why were you that uneasy?"

He thought long and hard, something he barely does in his everyday life. He reminisced about the times he was with Lucy, particularly the recent memories where he realized that he started feeling discomfort around her. What did he feel that time? "Well..." He trailed off, making a mental list about his experiences around a certain blonde. "I feel nervous when she's around and I never really feel nervous around Lucy before, I always find her existence soothing and calm. And then there's this weird feeling in my gut every time she laughs or smiles but maybe it was just some bad food that I ate waaay earlier so I'm not really sure with that..." He muttered and Cana rolled her eyes at his incredibly dense nature, how can someone be this... stupid?

"Oh!" Natsu's face lit up as he remembered another incident where he felt weird when surrounded by the blonde beauty. "There was that time when I accidentally walked in on her naked and after that incident there were several occasions where I-I um..." Natsu's cheeks flushed once again, this time a darker shade than before, almost on par with Erza's hair color. "I kind of-accidentally... it wasn't intentional but..." He struggled.

"What?" Cana hissed, Natsu's flustered behavior was starting to get on her nerves. Yes, it looks really adorable but it wasn't helping with the situation and most importantly wasn't giving her the answers she desperately wanted to know.

"I've been dreaming about her." Natsu hung his head low, feeling ashamed about something that he could not control.

Cana's eyebrow rose before her lips split into a wide, teasing grin. "Don't tell me it's a _wet dream_?" She snickered. She was only teasing Natsu but from the way his ears reddened, she knew she hit the jackpot. "OMG, you were?!"

"Shut up!" Natsu yelled through gritted teeth, his face turned a shade darker if it was even possible. He wasn't too proud about that, he promised he wouldn't dare say a word about it to anybody but he thought that this situation calls for it, as long as he gets some answer. Besides, he thinks Cana's opinion is more reliable than Gray's, he couldn't trust every word that exhibitionist says.

"I didn't know you were such a perv!" Cana laughed so loud that the class was giving her curious glances and odd looks, but of course, she didn't care.

"I'm not!" Natsu defended. "I don't control my dreams, okay? Honestly, I wish it would stop, it doesn't really help when I'm with Lucy." He said, muttering the last part quietly to himself but Cana still heard it.

"Yep, you are soooo in love." Cana giggled.

"You sure?" He asked. He wasn't against the idea, Lucy's really easy to love, he just didn't want to make a mistake and give her a half-assed love.

He mentally slapped himself. What was he thinking? Did he seriously just thought to make a move on his own best friend? It just sounded… wrong. And when Lucy described her ideal man, wasn't the description the complete opposite of who he is? Does that mean that there wasn't a single instance where Lucy considered him as a potential boyfriend, even if it was just for a split second? Will she flat out reject him as soon as his true feelings comes out of his lips?

Cana noticed how Natsu's mood depleted more than it already has, knowing from experience how it felt to be in love and its struggles, she guessed where Natsu's train of thoughts was headed and decided to help out the poor, scared and confused guy. "Hey, stop worrying, you really don't have to worry if you don't plan to confess." She shrugged, but then added, "Though you'll regret it later on and have to watch her date other guys." She can't help it, as much as she wants to sympathize with Natsu, there's just no way she'll let an opportunity to mess with him pass.

Natsu paused for a second before looking up at Cana, "But what if I do plan to confess to her?" He asked. He was slowly learning to accept the fact that he has fallen for Lucy, everything he had said ever since Erza walked out just pointed to that one answer, and even Gray and Cana have to slap the truth right at his face. Maybe all he should do was to accept it.

Cana's eyes widened at his reply, she didn't really thought that he would readily accept the fact that easily and is already planning to confess to the blonde a few minutes after he discovered his feelings. It was reckless, yet again, Natsu _is_ reckless. She opened her mouth to speak but a familiar voice cut in.

"You want to confess but do you have a plan?" Gray cut in, now wearing his uniform. Sweat trickled on temple down to his cheek, an evident that he had been running, searching for his clothes around the campus.

Natsu's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Is a plan really needed?" He asked, he thought it would be as easy as just talking. Tell his feelings and he's done.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Of course, you dumbass! A confession should be romantic! Planned to perfection! It has to be the kind of confession that every girl had been dreaming about so that you won't get rejected!" Gray said, his hand flailing in a dramatic gesture that made Natsu scrunch his face in disgust. He was reminding him of that guy from an anime Lucy had forced him into watching, that blonde guy from Ouran High School Host Club, Tamaki Suoh. But to Gray, he thought he was more of a god of love.

"Gray, I hate to say this but," Cana inhaled, "shut the fuck up. You're being weird." She said before turning back to Natsu. "What Gray meant is, you have to plan it somehow, you can't just go right up and blurt out your feelings 'cause you'll just stutter and be awkward and you'll regret not thinking it through. In short, it will be a complete and utter failure."

"So, how do you plan a confession?" Natsu asked, he wasn't really that convinced but Cana sounded experienced and reliable that he chose to believe her. Well, she better not mess with him.

"Do you seriously not watch or read anything with romance in it? Even just a _little_ bit?" Gray asked in disbelief. How can someone be so completely oblivious? Even action movies or horror had some romantic scenes sometimes.

"And you read and watch romance?" Natsu smirked. "Damn Gray, didn't know you had it in you." He cackled and Gray's cheeks and ears went red from embarrassment and the fact that Natsu guessed it right.

"Shut up! There's nothing wrong with that! At least I have an idea about romance and dating. What about you?" Gray yelled, trying so hard to defend himself but he felt like he just dug his grave a little bit deeper when Natsu's laughter intensified.

Cana watched in amusement as Gray tried to come up with an excuse after another excuse just to dig his grave deeper while Natsu looks like he's about to choke on his spit any minute now from laughing too hard. She sighed, _boys._ When the two settled down, she told them that she'll help Natsu with his mission to _'conquer Lucy Heartfilia's heart'_ to which Gray agreed on joining.

Natsu spent days being 'trained' by Gray and Cana on being romantic. They thought him what to do on dates, how to compliment a girl, how to be a complete gentleman, gave him a few pick-up lines to use that weren't completely cheesy, and finally, they planned the day of the confession.

Natsu walked up to Lucy's apartment, he was going to spend the weekend, lounging around in her apartment like he always used to, and by the end of the night, when he had to go home, he'll ask her out on a date on a fancy restaurant (which was Gray's idea). He climbed up the window of her bedroom and entered. Lucy was still peacefully asleep on her bed and Natsu couldn't help but smile, ever since he accepted his feelings for her, it's like a weight he didn't know about was lifted from his chest and he had been in a good mood ever since, even Gray's pestering couldn't do anything to break his mood.

When Lucy woke up, freaked out and Lucy kicked him to a wall, they started with their usual weekend routine of having a breakfast together, cleaning the apartment (he wasn't any help at all and was almost kicked out by Lucy) playing videogames and watching movies and anime, and pigging out on snacks, it was already time for him to go home. He didn't feel content though, Lucy somehow seemed distracted and she was always on her phone. He tried to get a glimpse yet Lucy got mad and pushed him away from her phone, it made him feel uneasy.

"Hey, who were you texting the whole day?" He asked as Lucy walked him out the door. He tried pushing the thought of Lucy seeing another man, even tried convincing himself that it was probably Levy or Cana but it was no use, he _had_ to know.

"Does it matter?" She huffed, obviously still annoyed that he tried invading her privacy, and Natsu knew how much she valued it. He should apologize.

"Just wondering." He shrugged, trying to sound like it wasn't that big of a deal even if it's already eating him slowly in the inside.

Lucy must've sensed his curiosity so she sighed, "It's just Loke." She said.

"Oh." He didn't know what to say. Three words from her and it already ruined his mood, just her mentioning Loke and he already wants to pick a fight, if only she knew what kind of effect she had on him. "Sorry about earlier, didn't mean to make you mad, Luce."

"Its fine, I may have reacted a little bit over the top too." Lucy giggled, and somehow, he's mood was lifted even if it's just a little bit.

After they had said their goodbyes, all Natsu could think about was Lucy and Loke. It bothered him, but what could he do? He doesn't have any right to pry into her messages or even be jealous. He was her best friend, just her best friend and he should be supportive of her and her love life. The problem is that he can't. He wants to but his feelings were too deep to just ignore.

He took his phone out from his pocket and stared at the message on the screen. It was from Gray, asking if everything went well. He sighed and pressed the call button, placing the phone on his ear and waited for Gray to pick up.

There was an audible click and Gray answered. "Hey flame brain, were you able to ask her out?"

Natsu kicked a stray pebble from the side walk and sighed. "No, I wasn't."

"What? We spent weeks trying to train you and you didn't ask her out?!" Cana cut in and Gray could be heard in the background, yelling at her to give his phone back.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wanted to but I kinda… lost my motivation." He said, mumbling the last part.

"And why is that?"

"She was on the phone with Loke the whole day! I was by her side but her attention wasn't on me but on her stupid phone!" He scoffed, glaring at the ground. He paused for a minute when it dawned on him that he was talking to one of Lucy's female best friend. "I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to blow up like that… It's just frustrating." He ran his hand across his face.

Cana was silent for a minute and Natsu was nervous, did he made her mad? He sighed in relief when she answered. "It's okay, I know how you feel. But relax, Loke's not really a strong rival, I assure you. There'll be a next time, try it again tomorrow."

"But what if she's distracted with Loke again?" He asked, unsure if it was still right to go with the plan. He kind of lost his confidence after Lucy revealed that the reason why she was so distracted was because of the orange-haired man.

"Hmm…" Cana trailed off, thinking about what to do. Natsu waited and raised an eyebrow when he heard Gray's voice from the other end of the line, then Cana's. They were having a conversation but Natsu couldn't make out the words, they were too hushed.

"Natsu," Natsu straightened his back when he heard his name being called out. "Change of plans, you're going to force her attention on you."

"What?" He asked, confused and bewildered.

"Get your pillow and a change of clothes, you're staying over at Gray's house tonight." After that, Cana ended the call leaving Natsu staring at his phone in confusion.

* * *

 **I have to cut it short, this is just half of my plan and I'm still in the process of writing the other half. I just couldn't wait to share this with you. Hahaha. I don't know how long it will take to finish the next half because it's almost the end of the school year over here and as someone whose about to move up to senior high, the teachers are making sure to make me suffer. I hope you'll be patient 'til then. :)**


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